[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Healthy 
Schools Day, which is being celebrated around the country today.
  National Healthy Schools Day recognizes the importance of having a 
clean and healthy indoor environment in our Nation's schools. And today 
I introduced a House resolution officially recognizing National Healthy 
Schools Day.
  Some 54 million children spend their days in our Nation's schools, 
half of which have problems with indoor air quality. Children are more 
vulnerable than adults to environmental hazards in their schools 
because of their developing immune systems and small bodies.
  Poor indoor environmental quality has been linked to asthma and other 
illnesses in children. With one out of every 13 children suffering from 
asthma--the number one cause of missed school days--it is very 
important that we address this issue. Healthy and high-performance 
schools are the answer to this problem. They reduce indoor 
environmental hazards and are energy efficient.
  I was proud to work with the New York State Energy Research and 
Development Authority to develop New York State's High Performance 
Schools guidelines, and I am proud to recognize National Healthy 
Schools Day.

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